Our house was built in 1972 and it has a fireplace and chimney set in
the interior (i.e. not on an outside wall). How feasible is it to
remove the entire fireplace and chimney?

Hello Coffeemate,

The answer is most definitely yes and there are a variety of different
methods described in on line sites. Based on your area, there may also
be some restrictions on doing this.

Most sites generally describe chimney cleaning or chimney restoration,
so getting information on removal is a little more involved than a
typical search. Here are a few sites the describe the process and I
will also describe a method for finding a contractor in your area that
can do the work if you can't.

From
  http://www.bricksandbrass.co.uk/diyelem/roof/chimney/chimrmvl.htm
which states in part
  If you still want to remove part or all of a chimney the options are:
  o reduce the height of the chimney stack, leaving it above the roof
  o remove the chimney stack to below the roof
  o remove the chimney-breast from one internal storey
  o remove the chimney-breast from all rooms
  o remove the chimney-breast from the attic or loft
  o various combinations of the above
This site is an index for companies doing period home restoration and
has a few other articles that might be relevant.

  http://www.roofingservices.gb.com/pages/photogallery.html
The first two photos under "Chimney Rebuild" showing removal of a
chimney stack to a level below the roof line. At this point, you could
rebuild the roof to cover the opening and "remove" the chimney from
the exterior of your home.

  http://www.demolitionx.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=566
A long discussion of removing a large (185 foot tall) chimney. About a
third of the way down describes the crane set up and other
considerations (weight of pieces removed, reinforcement for
surrounding areas). There was also a couple contractors that appeared
to be willing to help - if they have a local office, they might be
able to help you as well.

From Google's cache
http://216.239.57.104/search?q=cache:PwcmR7nj-9IJ:www.paweekly.com/PAW/morgue/real_estate/1995_May_19.building_permits.html+%22chimney+removal%22&hl=en&ie=UTF-8
original location at
http://www.paweekly.com/PAW/morgue/real_estate/1995_May_19.building_permits.html
lists the building permits for the Palo Alto area and includes a
chimney removal. From this reference, you may be able to get referrals
from the local city building permit office.

  http://www.ci.williamsburg.va.us/planning/events/AM051303.pdf
Minutes from an architectural review board - some areas require
approval from a board such as this one.

For more references, try phrases such as
  "chimney removal"
  chimney removal -cleaning
  "chimney removal" (your state/city here)
As an example of the last one, I tried
  chimney removal -cleaning Pennsylvania
as an example to find Apex Roofing
  http://www.apexroofingco.com/services2.htm
which serves West Pennsyvania.

Use a clarification request if you need more specific information
related to chimney removal or finding a contractor that would do the
job in your area.

  --Maniac

VG answer. Thanks.

It's entirely feasible but it must be done by someone who knows how to
do it without bringing the house down.

It depends entirely on the construction of your house and in which
country. Most chimneys are free standing. That is, none of the roof
structure or floor joists are tied into the chimney brickwork. You
could remove the chimney but it should be removed all the way up to
the roof. I would not recommend only removing the ground floor chimney
breast because the remaining brickwork would have to supported in some
way or it would collapse.
Call in a builder or structural engineer to give you advice.
answerfinder-ga

If you are in the Bournemouth area or anywhere near we will be glad to
provide free advice and/or a free written quotation. As roofing and
chimney contracors we are fully conversant with this type of work.
Quality-1st Buidling Services Ltd
0800 3281061

or for full info:
http://qualitywork.co.uk